1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a method and apparatus for registering a device in a server, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for registering devices positioned in the same network in a server.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various devices are currently being used in the home, which include, for example, an information device such as a Personal Computer (PC), a communication device such as a phone, a broadcast device such as a Television (TV), and Audio and Video (AV) devices such as a Digital Video Disc (DVD) player and a digital camera. Home automation for automatically controlling these devices has already entered the marketplace.
Home automation first separately controlled the devices using a phone or infrared rays. Specifically, early home automation did not involve a connection between the individual devices. However, through the development of communication technologies, a method of establishing a network between home appliances, which utilizes a controller for controlling the network, is has been used for integral management.
A system for integrally managing home appliances by establishing a network for the appliances is referred to as a “home network system”. The home network system connects various network home appliances (e.g., a TV, a washing machine, a microwave oven, a gas range, an audio player, an air conditioner, and a boiler, etc.), lighting, a gas valve, and a front door, etc. to a controller such as a home gateway and a home server, and controls the connected devices through a certain terminal (e.g., a remote controller).
Various devices are being introduced that have applied technologies for efficiently implementing data sharing between devices, which is required in providing a home network service or an integrated service of communication and broadcasting.
The Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) is an official partner for home network commercialization, and is a new name of Digital Home Working Group (DHWG), which was launched in June, 2003.
The goal of the DLNA is to establish a mutually compatible platform based on the already established and publicized industry standards and to realize convergence between industries. The DLNA is promoting the introduction of guidelines for companies based on the Universal Plug and Play (UPnP), which is widely used in companies that manufacture home appliances, personal computers, and wireless devices, etc.
The UPnP is a technology that allows communication between home devices connected to the network without a complicated setting procedure, and allows a device to automatically find a service held by another device.
Further, the guidelines, which are currently being introduced in the DLNA, provides a design principal allowing contents to be shared between different brands and products through the wired/wireless home network between home appliances, personal computers and wireless devices. Hence, the products, which are designed according to the guidelines, can share media contents such as music, pictures and video files, through the home network.
When sharing contents between devices in the DLNA-based home network environment, the home network data sharing system controls services in consideration of the characteristics of the devices and the communication environment. The home network data sharing system also allows interworking with various servers in the communication network in order to provide better quality services. When registration to the service is necessary for interworking with a server, registration is performed for each device.